Nikolaev

The situation in the domestic shipbuilding industry is not changing for the better, the negative trend over the years, only increasing, and briefly describes the problem this way: Shipbuilding – it is expensive, which can not afford the current Ukrainian government. Especially since the state is often not in a position not only to help, but “at least not to interfere.” However, shipbuilding, not only can not afford, Ukraine generally not up to it, nor to many other high-tech industries. So often practiced imitation of some action to improve the situation in shipbuilding, mainly as a witticism, during the pre-election visit to some of Nikolaev‘s plant. But the real output of our shipbuilders of the crisis so far no progress.

“This is not the company …”
In Nikolaev depth of the problems felt especially acutely as in any way, the city began to be built in a year after the laying of the shipyard Ingul. Two centuries in the city built the ships, and then the case took longer Russian and Soviet and Ukrainian rulers. And now the three famous plant, the Black Sea, they are. 61 Communards and “Ocean”, lose their power every year. In this case, lose, regardless of ownership, as state-owned enterprises and privatized-captured.
Just look at the number of employees. If at sunset Union CSY worked 24 thousand people, and to plant them. 61 Communards – 13 thousand, but now, as the former director of both plants Igor Ovdienko, they have less than a thousand employees. At the “Ocean” – “is much less than a thousand” of working once the 12 th

“Today, when people talk about this a thousand factory CSY, for example, the director of hosiery factory can say that this is a powerful team, – says Igor Ovdienko. – Yes, if you do knitting products. And speaking of CSY, a thousand – it’s a watch, a few engineers, designers, and some workers, and plant protection. That’s it. This is not the company. “

On one only reduce the number to draw conclusions about how these plants are now operating. And the people said to themselves shipbuilders would gladly go back to his hometown from different distant countries, where they continue to ply their trade. But you need to and work appeared in Nikolaev.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union’s major production volumes Nikolaev shipbuilders forgotten. But learned what raider attacks, the privatization of violations of law and without the implementation of investment commitments, tedious litigation, permanent unpaid wages, etc. For example, the plant “Ocean” was once called successful privatization, but now fighting for his two famous oligarch – Vadim Novinsky and Konstantin Zhevago, and this has an impact on his life. CSY after privatization in 2003, as a result, nailed to the shipbuilding holding the same Novinskii Smart Maritime Group. During the privatization of the plant, according to the first secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party of Nikolaev Vladimir Matveyev, “was violated all that is possible”, after which the oligarch “legitimately bought the shares from people who have received them illegally.”

The former director, who now heads the Committee to Save the CSY Igor Ovdienko shows appeal to the newly appointed (after vradievskih events) Attorney Mykolaiv region. The document states that “in 2007, in violation of the laws of Ukraine CSY was captured by the “new owner”, who said that he definitely will unswervingly implement the investment obligations, unfortunately, these promises were unfounded – instead of output growth observed decline in actual, updating and modernization do not speak to somehow contain the collective leadership CSY writes off almost not worn out machinery, including computer numerical control, cut them for scrap.”

However, no better results, and under the “sensitive” government guidance. So, part of GC “Ukroboronprom” Plant named after 61 Communards went to this summer’s debt under the salary of 17 million USD. To solve the problem, changes were made to the law “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2013″, the state guarantees will “Ukroboronprom” borrow and repay the workers. The plant itself is waiting for restructuring, well at least “keeping the shipbuilding profile”, well, employees will have another contraction.

No corvette is not here …
During visits to Nikolaev, you always feel that you are in a particular city. Each stone seems to be imbued with the glorious history of the domestic shipbuilding and every citizen before the counter bore the awareness of belonging. And not only awareness, in the old days almost every second nikolaevets was somehow related to shipbuilding (after all, one job in the industry creates in five contiguous).

If we talk about the feelings and sensations, they have not gone away, just out of town Nikolaev shipbuilders are slowly but surely turning into a museum. And the best view of it is opened with a pedestrian pontoon bridge in the city center, where we met with Igor Ovdienko. Here are degenerating Plant. 61 Communards (once the first Nikolaev shipyard), here is a symbol of the cruiser “Ukraine“, here’s territory, which wants to sell part of the restructuring … And next dive off the bridge guys who, unlike their fathers, most likely, will not be working shipbuilders.

“The trouble is that all three of the plant stand, and no alarm, – says Igor. – My opponent says: “There is no order.” But why not? Take Vietnam, its shipyards were designed and built with Soviet assistance, equipment was supplied, basically, from Nikolaev, experts have studied with us. The Vietnamese are building and selling ships, and our Ukrainian ship owners, no matter what flag, buy ships there who can build factories Nikolaev, Kherson, Kerch and Sevastopol even. Because there – 2 times cheaper. How can this be? Vietnam which buys everything, metal, equipment, insulation materials, they have, in fact, there is only labor, but the cost of the vessel is 2 times lower than ours. Someone needs to get angry and bang his fist on the table, the president, the prime minister said, how can it be? Call the minister of economy – what kind of economy we have, if in a competition won Vietnam? With all due respect, he can not win Ukraine if she’s all right. The country’s leadership has yet to see the point? If we have worked these tens of thousands of people in the factories – there would be unemployment in the Nikolaev.”

This is not a new problem for the Ukrainian shipbuilders, except that a few guidelines are changing, and now Vietnam is among those “who turned out.” However, as in socialist Vietnam, and in capitalist countries the level of state support for shipbuilding should be called a key, we have the same, if you take the last decade as a whole, the government can “please” shipbuilders only increase land tax from 1% to 3%, but various other taxes that prevent even repair ships at Ukrainian shipyards.

To solve the problems of the sector , the Ukrainian government from time to time is to experiment. So in 1999 a law was passed exempting ship-builders from the land tax, import duties and value added tax on imports peripheral equipment and design work. As pointed out in his book, then- President Leonid Kuchma, “because of these benefits have funds remaining shipyards in the amount of 190 million USD, Resulting in a 2000 production of the industry grew by 42%, were provided with jobs over 60 thousand skilled workers for the 2004 production of the industry grew by 32 %.”

Then the “heirs” Kuchma quickly finished with the experiments allow to recover shipbuilding. Now it is the other “heirs” are trying to repeat the experiment, but, as they can be more say than do. Law № 5209 -VI «On conducting an economic experiment on state support for the shipbuilding industry” is valid from January 1, 2013, but to this day have not been taken related projects number 2488 and number 2489 on amendments to the tax and customs codes. If such a rate to experiment, you can simply upgrade will be late and have nothing .

Unfortunately, about how the state, in practice, takes care of shipbuilding, can be judged by history with the state order for Corvettes. In 2011 a state program approved construction of four warships of the project 58250 for a total amount of 11 billion USD. In May 2011, a workshop was laid CSY the lead ship of the series “Vladimir the Great”, at the same time Viktor Yanukovych promised to factory workers jobs and increase wages. However, since public money allocated for the construction of extremely sluggish and wags calculate how many years with this funding will be built corvettes. Obtained from 37 to 1500 years.

Problems with the release of state funds admitted even host CSY Vadim Novinsky, however, promising to build everything according to plan.

“By what plan? – Surprised Igor Ovdienko – No construction plan does not specify the term of launch and a maximum of three people working there. Corvette – it’s patrol boat, he did not commensurate with the aircraft carrier. How can you tell that a corvette built for several years, and his body is not even on the stocks? If you now turn over everything and start to build it, well, maybe next year it will collect, but it will ship yesterday.”

And Vladimir Matveev do not believe in that at CSY will implement this project and believes that, in such circumstances, one corvette will build an aircraft carrier longer. It turns out that the Nikolai Corvettes – more desire to show that something is changing in the industry for the better. And then how it will be financed and implemented – no one, in general, is not interested.

Ships stand up … and still stand up

However, the mythical corvettes or even another experiment Shipbuilding seen lesser events for the industry, rather than deterioration of the Ukrainian-Russian relations, due to the reluctance of our government to join the Customs Union. European integration of our shipbuilding will do nothing, there can be no doubt. Even the EU member Poland with shipbuilding had to actually say goodbye.

In Russia, in December last year, was approved by the program “Development of shipbuilding in 2013-2030 years” with government funding to more than 600 billion rubles. Ukrainian shipbuilders, of course, would like to take part in this ambitious program, and the Russians without our production capacity will be heavier. But on the political opposition and the sacred cow of European integration broken all natural, industrial communications.

“We need to see the benefit of Russia and ours, – says Igor Ovdienko – Nikolaev would need Russia if she knew that you can work with Ukraine. Russia adopted a program of shipbuilding, and if we ignore the advertising husk, we see how the experts that there is not enough capacity and personnel.”

But Russia is now clearly believes that you can not work with Ukraine. We can say that at the moment the Russian government is fully confident in it. And earlier special progress was observed. Get at least mentioned cruiser “Ukraine“, which can admire anyone for two decades. This is an excellent illustration of the productivity of the Ukrainian-Russian relations in the field.

“At the time, Ukraine was the sale of the ship to associate Russia with all the problems and unresolved issues between the states, – said Igor Ovdienko. – As a result, Russia said it is willing to buy it at the price of scrap metal and then sign a contract for its reconstruction, modernization and reconstruction. Ukrainian officials said, well, you’re not going anywhere, and the Russians responded – ah well, then he does not need us at all. I believe that if the case, the ship needs Russia. They have just one such missile cruiser for each fleet, “Ukraine” would be the fourth, and they could have one ship repair, and the rest were swimming. But Putin said, to stop talking about this ship, and it hung up.”

As reported by various news agencies, at the last meeting of the Subcommittee on Security of the Russian- Ukrainian Interstate Commission raised the issue of whether the acquisition of Russian cruiser for a billion rubles, or simply the willingness of Ukraine to finish the ship, without discussing the price. Well, neither Russia nor Ukraine there have been slow, the ship is 20 years without the benefit – and may still stand.

Among shipbuilders Nikolaev‘s – former and current prevailing feeling of uselessness. In fact, the state does not need to shipbuilding, Russia “for Ukraine” our factories also does not want to be interested in developing the production of those people to whom it belongs? Vadim Novinsky, Konstantin Zhevago, recently supplemented his “Zaliv” shipyards Norwegian Bergen Group, the main shareholder of “Sevmorzavod” Poroshenko? These people, of course, would like to earn more on shipbuilding assets, but applying for this super efforts and risk large sums they are not ready.

“The oligarchs do not need to go to the president and talk about what we have to compete with Vietnam, – says Igor Ovdienko. – Why? Because they took the plants for nothing and regained a penny these at once. CSY captured a corporate raid. Now we need to keep the area and the price of the land with transport links automatically grows every day. They have nothing to lose, and investing – it is necessary to take risks. The oligarchs are waiting for a chance to sell these plants. So they say, the directors: “You do not ask us questions, you work, it is necessary to build ships – build, do not – do not build, feed themselves and their colleagues.” Directors of enterprises, as a scapegoat tense situation – change. Changed 12 directors, none the next was not better than the last. Nobody needs to increase the volume of production, nor the owner nor the state. You can not live.”

Of course, the Ukrainian oligarchs are well aware that they are deprived of the privatized enterprises can not because of the fact that not complied with the terms of the investment agreement, but because there is someone polovchee and close to power. Well, the state is also, it turns out there is not much care whether what the privatized plant is being built there, if there was who among workers or watch one roams the grounds …

“They need the money now, not the day after tomorrow” – that describe the approach in Nikolaev oligarchs who control the industry. The state in this life principle does not interfere. And what will be the result? Money will not be today or tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow to even think about scary. Ukrainian shipbuilding in this bright day after tomorrow just is not drawn.Mykolayiv flowers